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Way up north, in the
highlands of Scotland, where the hills are carpeted with purple heather,
lived a wee lad named Alastair.
He liked to chase the
woolly sheep through the tall grasses. Sometimes he would sneak up on the
highland cows as they grazed and grab hold of their long hairy tail. Other
times he picked the prickly purple thistle that grew about the glen; but
more than anything in the whole world, Alastair loved listening to his
father play the bagpipes.
His father was the best
bagpipe player in the glen. Alastair wanted to play the bagpipes too, but
he was too wee. "When can I play the bagpipes?" he’d ask.
"When you’re big," his
father told him.
One afternoon, Alastair’s
father brought home a present. "Is it for me?" Alastair asked.
"Aye, laddie," he answered
and handed Alastair a wooden flute. "Learn to use this. It will help your
lungs grow strong and you’ll develop an ear for music."
Alastair was so excited. He
took the wooden flute and ran into the heather-covered hills. Sheep were
grazing nearby, nibbling on the heather. Birds were busy building their
nests and were merrily singing in the trees. Butterflies fluttered around
the bluebells and buttercups.
He took out his brand new
wooden flute and blew into it. It made a horrible sound. The sheep looked
up and began to baa. He blew into it again. The birds looked down from
their nests wondering what the terrible noise was. Once more he blew. The
butterflies lifted their heads from the center of the flowers to see what
was going on. He blew and blew and blew, but all that came out were loud
screeches. The sheep and birds finally tired of hearing the noise and
left. Alastair wondered how he’d ever get good enough to play the
bagpipes, when all he did was make loud noises.
The next morning he woke up
feeling happy. He remembered his father telling him to practice. After
breakfast, he ran back into the hills. The sheep were grazing and nibbling
on the heather, but when they saw Alastair coming, they ran away. The
birds in the nests flew away too. The butterflies fluttered to another
patch of flowers. Nobody wanted to hear his screeches.
Alastair climbed onto a
rock and took out his flute. He blew and blew and made an awful noise, but
then something happened; he actually played a note. It was only one note,
but at least it wasn’t a screech.
He tried it again. It took
a long time but he finally did it again. He kept practicing and practicing
and once he figured out how he was doing it, he kept playing the note over
and over again. He was so excited. He ran down the hill and found his mum.
"Mum, listen! I can play my flute!" He blew into it and the two notes came
out.
"That’s lovely, Alastair.
Keep practicing and in no time you’ll be the best bagpipe player in the
glen," his mum said.
Every day Alastair went
into the hills to practice. Soon he learned three notes and then four, and
then five and soon he could play a tune. He did it very slowly and now and
then a wee screech sounded, but he was playing the tune. "I can play a
song," he laughed. He was so excited. He ran down the hill and found his
mum again. "Mum, mum," he called. "Listen. I can play a song," he giggled.
He played for her. "That’s
lovely, Alastair. That’s a song your Gran used to sing to you when you
were a wee baby."
Alastair was so proud of
himself and he could feel his lungs growing stronger every day.
Whenever he went into the hills to practice, the sheep, instead of running
away, stayed to listen to him play. The birds and their newly hatched
chicks stayed in their nests and listened. The butterflies fluttered
around the bluebells and thistle, not wanting to leave.
One night, the villagers
held a ceilidh, which is a big party. Alastair’s mum helped him dress in
his wee kilt and velvety jacket. He put on his woolen socks and put a
little black beret on top of his reddish-brown hair. Alastair looked in
the mirror. "I look like a bagpiper. I look like my father." He felt so
proud. He put his flute into the pocket of his jacket and left for the
party.
He had a marvelous time.
The bagpipes played songs while people danced the Highland fling. They ate
food, like shortbread, clootie dumpling, haggis, meat pies, sausage rolls
and flaky pastries filled with cherries and covered with vanilla icing.
Everyone was having a grand time.
Alastair remembered the
flute that was inside his jacket pocket. He walked slowly up onto the
stage. Nobody noticed him. They were all too busy talking and singing. He
took out his flute and began to play. Suddenly the room was filled with
silence. Alastair stopped playing. Everyone was looking up at him. Then
his father stood up and shouted, "Play us a song, Alastair."
The other people began to
shout, "Play us a song, laddie."
Alastair put the flute to
his mouth and played. When he finished, everyone began to clap. His father
ran and picked up his son. "You’ll make a fine bagpipe player when you
grow up. Just keep practicing."
Alastair did just that. He
practiced and practiced and when he grew up, was the best bagpipe player
in the glen, even better than his father. |
